On my first night inside the $4.8 million Malibu beach house I bought with my own money, my mother-in-law called and said, “We’re moving in tomorrow, Marcus said it’s fine, and if you don’t like it, you can find somewhere else.”

Eleanor tried everything. She claimed to have keys. She didn’t. She said she’d left personal items inside. Impossible. She even tried to scale the fence, until the guard informed her that would be criminal trespass on camera.

The charity committee ladies began to look uncomfortable. Patricia Worthington, the committee chair, approached Eleanor.

“Perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“The only misunderstanding,” Eleanor snapped, “is my daughter-in-law’s delusion that she has any say in Drexler family properties.”

Then she made her biggest mistake. In full view of the cameras and witnesses, Eleanor pulled out a crowbar from the moving truck and approached the gate lock. The guard immediately called 911.

“We have an attempted breaking and entering in progress at 2847 Pacific Coast Highway.”

Eleanor’s face went white as she heard sirens approaching. The moving truck driver, apparently smarter than his client, immediately started backing away. The charity committee scattered to their cars.