On social media, Marivic, a Filipina immigrant living in Texas, presented a life of glamour and happiness. A self-proclaimed “happy wife” to her American husband, she was a doting mother and fashion enthusiast. Her best friend, Mary Grace, who had also moved from the Philippines to marry an American, seemed to be living a similar dream.

Her husband, Clarence McNatt, was a federal agent with the Border Patrol and Marshall Service, a man of authority and means. Their online photos painted a picture of a perfect life. But behind this carefully curated facade lurked a dark and abusive reality that was about to explode into a revenge plot of monstrous cruelty.

Clarence McNatt, older and repeatedly unlucky in love with American women, had turned to international dating sites to find a partner. There, he discovered a world where his attention was eagerly received. He specifically targeted younger women from the provinces of the Philippines, drawn to what he perceived as a conservative and submissive nature.

In Mary Grace, he found his perfect match. After a few visits to her small town, he proposed. For Mary Grace and her family, it was a golden opportunity for a better life. In 2008, she arrived in Texas on a K-1 “fiancé” visa, and they were married within the required 90 days.

The “perfect marriage” Clarence flaunted online was a lie. In court, prosecutors would later reveal that the loving husband was, in reality, a classic abuser. He isolated Mary Grace, controlling who she could talk to and where she could go.

He preyed on her vulnerabilities as a young immigrant, financially dependent and thousands of miles from her family. Like many victims of abuse, Mary Grace hid her suffering, especially from her family back home, wanting to project an image of success and happiness.

Her only lifeline was her friendship with Marivic. In her best friend, Mary Grace found a confidante who understood her situation. As a true friend, Marivic listened to the horror stories of emotional and physical abuse and urged her to leave.

In October 2016, Mary Grace finally found the courage. She packed her bags and fled to the one safe place she knew: Marivic’s home. For Clarence McNatt, this was an unforgivable betrayal, not just by his wife, but by her friend. His rage festered into a sadistic, meticulously planned revenge plot.

Convinced his wife had left him for a lesbian relationship with Marivic, Clarence approached his neighbor and friend, Kent, a U.S. Navy veteran. Believing Kent could find other veterans to do his dirty work, Clarence laid out his plan.

He didn’t just speak it; he wrote it down in a horrifyingly detailed note. This was his “dream punishment.” He wanted both women kidnapped. He wanted them stripped naked in a car and forced to perform sexual acts on each other.

Then, they were to be taken to a “safe house” for 10 days to a month, a place he called the “fun house,” where they would be repeatedly drugged and gang-raped by various men. He explicitly requested that the entire ordeal be filmed.

Kent was horrified. Realizing his friend was dangerously serious, he took the handwritten note straight to the police. Authorities immediately set up a sting operation. An undercover detective, J. Phillips, posed as a hitman and arranged a meeting with Clarence in a parking lot rigged with surveillance equipment.

The recordings captured Clarence in his own words, excitedly and laughingly detailing his depraved fantasy. He told the officer he didn’t care what happened to the women, even if they were brutalized. He provided the women’s home and work addresses and offered a down payment for the job: $100 in cash and three of his father’s inherited rings.

As soon as the payment was made, officers swarmed in and arrested him. A search of his car revealed what could only be described as a rape kit: a dog leash, zip ties, rope, duct tape, lubricants, sleeping pills, and illegal drugs.

The trial, in April 2018, delivered a stunning conclusion. Despite the handwritten plan, the audio recordings, and the rape kit, the jury acquitted Clarence McNatt of conspiracy to commit capital murder. Their reasoning was that they believed his defense that he only wanted to “scare” the women into leaving Texas, not actually have them killed.

The horrific details of the planned torture and rape were not enough to convince them of his murderous intent. Instead of life in prison, the federal agent who plotted a month of hell for his wife and her friend was sentenced to just five years, followed by 10 years of probation.

Today, Marivic remains active on social media, a testament to her resilience. Mary Grace, in a wise act of self-preservation, has vanished from the public eye. The man who planned to destroy their lives has served his time, but for his victims, the knowledge of what he is capable of remains a shadow that may never truly disappear.