The court established substantial child support and a clear, workable custody schedule, so that Leo would always know exactly where he stood and when.

Julian did not walk away untouched, though his losses were of his own making and arrived through entirely lawful channels.

His firm’s executive board, once the financial misuse came to light, launched an internal review of its own, and the outcome was that Julian was required to repay the funds he had siphoned and to step down from his role as managing partner.

The professional standing he had valued above his own family, the thing for which he had ultimately chosen his mistress in that ballroom, slipped through his fingers.